Tributes, tears flow in Lac-Megantic

LAC-MEGANTIC, Quebec – An overflow crowd attended a memorial service Saturday at a church in the Quebec town of Lac-Megantic for the 47 people who were killed there when a runaway oil train derailed and exploded.

About 1,000 people packed Ste.-Agnes Church for the morning Mass presided over by Luc Cyr, the archbishop of Sherbrooke. Among the dignitaries attending were Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Liberal Party Leader Justin Trudeau, Quebec Premier Pauline Marois and the town’s mayor, Colette Roy-Laroche.

Additional Photos

An overflow crowd watches a giant screen outside the Ste-Agnes church during a memorial service on Saturday. The Associated Press

People proceed past a memorial during a ceremony at the Ste.-Agnes church in Lac Megantic, Quebec, on Saturday. Mathieu Belanger/Reuters

“This has been an emotional day followed by a very emotional period,” Harper said outside of the church. “It is very difficult to absorb all this when you see all of these families who have been affected.”

The town is near the U.S. border, and Gov. Paul LePage, who is of French-Canadian descent, was on hand to offer his condolences.

Parish priest Steve Lemay said in his homily that the town has suffered through “unbelievable events that caused us inexpressible suffering.”

“Our town, its heart devastated, is mourning its children. Children who were unique because of a color and vitality they brought to their families.”

The service was held three weeks after a runaway train carrying 72 carloads of crude oil hurtled down an incline, derailed and slammed into downtown Lac-Megantic. Several train cars exploded and fireballs rained down on the town, destroying 40 buildings in the picturesque lake-side town of 6,000. The unattended Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway train had been parked overnight on a rail line before it came loose.

Father Lemay said he found inspiration in the courage of crews at the disaster site, the volunteers in the parish, the schools transformed into shelters and the legions of dedicated public workers.

“Nobody here or anywhere, can bring back the dead and give them back to those who love them as Jesus did,” Lemay said. “However … we can all help life triumph. On our own path, we each experience these little victories over evil — little victories over suffering.”

A large crowd gathered outside the church as the solemn procession began, applauding a group of firefighters as they arrived for the Mass.

The service began with a grandmother from the town reading out the names of all the victims. “You know grandmothers — they like to tell their grandchildren stories,” said Pierrette Turgeon Blanchet, before she began reading. “But today I’d like to tell God a story.”

Many people outside the church wiped tears from their eyes as the victims’ names were read.

Sophie L’Heureux, the manager of Musi-Cafe bar, lost many friends and co-workers after fireballs consumed the popular local watering hole moments after the crash. She watched the ceremony on a big screen on the street outside the church.

“It’s an important step in the mourning process,” she said of the service’s impact on the town. “The whole population of Lac-Megantic is still really in a state of shock, even after three weeks. It will stay engraved on our hearts and on our memories for a long time.”

The July 6 tragedy has triggered lawsuits in Canada and the United States, a police criminal investigation and a probe by federal transportation safety officials. Quebec and the federal government have each promised CA$60 million (US$58 million) for emergency assistance and longer-term reconstruction help.

Ottawa has also revamped some rules, following the advice of the federal Transportation Safety Board. Canadian transportation authorities banned one-man crews for trains carrying dangerous cargo, and also said such trains will not be allowed to be left unattended on a main track.

Canada’s Transportation Safety Board said there was insufficient brake force to hold the train, which began rolling after being parked overnight on a rail line. A Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway executive blamed the train’s operator for failing to set enough hand brakes.

Before the Mass, LePage the day after the fatal accident in Quebec he issued an executive order to have all of Maine’s railway tracks checked.

“Both the federal government and the state are reviewing all the processes and procedures to make sure this doesn’t happen again. This is horrendous,” he said.

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